A/HRC/27/66
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
7 August 2014
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twenty-seventh session
Agenda item 5
Human rights bodies and mechanisms
Promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples
in disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness
initiatives
Study by the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Summary
In its resolution 24/10, the Human Rights Council requested the Expert Mechanism
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to prepare a study on the promotion and protection of
the rights of indigenous peoples in natural disaster risk reduction and prevention and
preparedness initiatives, including consultation and cooperation with the indigenous
peoples concerned in the elaboration of national plans for natural disaster risk reduction.
The present study explores the links between disaster risk reduction and human rights,
provides an overview of the international legal and policy framework in this regard, and
analyses some of the factors that place indigenous peoples at particular risk of being
affected by disasters. It then examines how indigenous peoples can contribute to disaster
risk reduction initiatives and proposes ways to increase indigenous peoples’ participation in
these initiatives. The study concludes with Expert Mechanism Advice No. 7.
GE.14-11300 (E)

A/HRC/27/66
Contents
I.
II.
III.
Introduction .............................................................................................................
Page
1–10
3
A.
Hazards, vulnerability and risk .......................................................................
3–6
3
B.
Disaster risk reduction as an enabler of human rights ...................................
7–10
4
International legal and policy framework................................................................
11–25
4
A.
International legal framework .........................................................................
11–21
4
B.
Overview of global frameworks for disaster risk reduction ............................
22–25
6
Why are indigenous peoples at particular risk? .......................................................
26–54
7
A.
Risk factors .....................................................................................................
29–44
8
B.
Lack of participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making
and lack of recognition of community-driven initiatives ...............................
45–49
12
Contribution of indigenous peoples to their own and to national resilience ...
50–54
13
How can consultation with and the participation of indigenous peoples in natural
disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives be improved? .......
55–72
15
A.
Free, prior and informed consent ...................................................................
56–58
15
B.
Partnership between indigenous peoples and governments ...........................
59–61
16
C.
Strategies to improve the participation of indigenous peoples
in disaster risk reduction .................................................................................
62–72
17
Expert Mechanism Advice No. 7 (2014): Promotion and protection of the
rights of indigenous peoples in disaster risk reduction initiatives ....................................................
21
C.
IV.
Paragraphs
Annex
2
A/HRC/27/66
I. Introduction
1.
In its resolution 24/10, the Human Rights Council requested the Expert Mechanism
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to prepare a study on the promotion and protection of
the rights of indigenous peoples in natural disaster risk reduction, prevention and
preparedness initiatives, including consultation and cooperation with the indigenous
peoples concerned in the elaboration of national plans for natural disaster risk reduction,
and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session. The Human
Rights Council also decided to convene, at the same session, a half-day panel discussion on
the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in natural disaster risk
reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives.
2.
The Expert Mechanism called for submissions from States, indigenous peoples, nonstate actors, national human rights institutions and other stakeholders to assist it in the
study. The submissions received are, where permission was granted, publicly available on
the website of the Expert Mechanism.
A.
Hazards, vulnerability and risk
3.
A disaster is not always or necessarily the inevitable consequence of the
manifestation of a natural phenomenon such as an earthquake, a typhoon or another type of
meteorological or geological event. In areas where there are no human interests, natural
phenomena do not constitute hazards, nor do they result in disasters. They do, however,
become hazardous events when they occur in close proximity to human populations. The
more vulnerable the population is, in terms of where they live, their level of knowledge and
awareness of and preparedness for the hazards, and the resources they have at their disposal
to limit their exposure, the greater the adverse impact will be on their lives and livelihoods.
4.
Although virtually nothing can be done to prevent the incidence or intensity of most
natural phenomena, human actions can increase the frequency and severity of natural
hazards. States and vulnerable populations, including indigenous peoples, have an
important role to play in ensuring that their own actions (or lack thereof) do not contribute
to creating a disaster. For example, healthy ecosystems play an important role in mitigating
or reducing the risk or disasters, yet human interventions such as the destruction of coral
reefs and deforestation can diminish the ability of ecosystems to provide protection against
natural hazards.1
5.
A disaster, therefore, is “a serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a
society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and
impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its
own resources. Disasters are often described as a result of the combination of the exposure
to a hazard, the conditions of vulnerability that are present, and insufficient capacity or
measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences.” 2
6.
This definition and other disaster terminology defined by the United Nations Office
for Disaster Risk Reduction promote a common understanding in the implementation of
1
2
Organization of American States, “What are natural hazards?” Available from www.oas.org/dsd/
publications/Unit/oea54e/ch05.htm#1.%20how%20natural%20are%20natural%20hazards (accessed
4 August 2014).
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2009 UNISDR Terminology on Disaster Risk
Reduction, (Geneva, 2009), p. 9. Available from www.unisdr.org/files/7817_UNISDRTerminology
English.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
3
A/HRC/27/66
disaster risk reduction practices. However, it is necessary to ensure that the perspectives of
indigenous peoples are adequately integrated into the implementation of all practices and at
all stages of the design and implementation of risk reduction projects and activities.
B.
Disaster risk reduction as an enabler of human rights
7.
Disaster risk reduction is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks by
systematically analysing and managing the causal factors of disasters, including through
reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise
management of land and the environment, and improved preparedness for adverse events. 3
8.
The impact of disasters on human rights can be of a direct nature, such as the threat
that extreme weather events may pose to the right to life. But often they will have an
indirect and gradual effect on human rights, such as increasing stress on health systems and
increasing vulnerabilities related to climate change-induced migration (A/HRC/10/61,
para. 92). The same holds true for virtually all types of natural hazards. Disaster risk
reduction contributes to the protection of human rights by reducing the likelihood of natural
hazards having a negative impact on housing, health, land rights and access to food, to give
a few examples. Disaster risk reduction provides an enabling environment for the
promotion and protection of human rights, particularly as it applies to indigenous peoples,
whose close relationship with their natural environment makes them particularly vulnerable
to disaster risk.
9.
Strategies to reduce disaster risk require collaboration and the technical input of a
wide range of actors if they are to be effective and they must include the perspective of the
indigenous peoples whose human rights and lives they are designed to protect. No one
agency or sector alone can hope to achieve meaningful change, and therefore, the very
process of designing risk reduction strategies, through partnerships in which human rights
agencies, disaster risk reduction experts and representatives of indigenous communities
work together, provides an excellent opportunity to improve the participation of indigenous
peoples in decision-making processes.
10.
All States have the obligation to protect human rights. Natural hazards are not
disasters, in and of themselves. Whether or not they become disasters depends on the
exposure of a community, and its vulnerability and resilience — all factors that can be
addressed by human (including State) action.4 A failure (by national and local governments,
disaster risk reduction agencies, indigenous peoples and other actors) to take reasonable
preventive action to reduce exposure and vulnerability and to enhance resilience, as well as
to provide effective mitigation, is therefore a human rights issue.
II. International legal and policy framework
A.
International legal framework
11.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (the
Declaration) is the most comprehensive instrument elaborating the rights of indigenous
3
4
4
Ibid., pp. 10 and 11.
The Chengdu Declaration for Action lays out the premise that there is no such thing as “natural
disasters”. Natural hazards — floods, earthquakes, landslides and storms — become disasters as a
result of human and societal vulnerability and exposure, which can be addressed by decisive policies
and actions and active participation by local stakeholders.
A/HRC/27/66
peoples, and should be the key starting point for any consideration of their individual and
collective rights. Although the Declaration does not explicitly address disaster risk
reduction, several of its provisions have implications for the promotion and protection of
indigenous peoples’ rights in this area, and can provide guidance for the design and
implementation of sound disaster risk reduction strategies and interventions.
12.
Self-determination, enshrined in articles 3 and 4 of the Declaration, is of paramount
importance in this respect. As article 4 states, in exercising their right to self-determination,
indigenous peoples have “the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to
their internal and local affairs, as well as ways and means for financing their autonomous
functions.” Local plans for disaster risk reduction and preparedness would certainly fall
under article 4.
13.
Article 18, on the right to participate in decision-making, and articles 19 and 32,
which address free, prior and informed consent, can also provide guidance in the context of
disaster risk reduction. In applying these articles, it becomes clear that indigenous peoples
are entitled to participate in disaster risk reduction processes and that States have the
obligation to consult with them and to seek to obtain their free, prior and informed consent
concerning risk reduction measures that may affect them. Risk reduction is more likely to
be successful if indigenous decision-making processes and traditional knowledge are
respected.
14.
Article 31 affirms the right of indigenous peoples to maintain and protect their
traditional knowledge and the manifestations of their sciences and technologies, as well as
providing safeguards for the protection of this right. Traditional knowledge has a valuable
role to play in disaster risk reduction and it should be recognized and protected accordingly.
All too often, mainstream disaster management institutions have ignored indigenous
knowledge, and many successful local practices have disappeared as a consequence of nonindigenous influence. At other times, indigenous peoples’ practices have adapted to
changing environments.
15.
Article 23 affirms indigenous peoples’ right to determine and develop priorities and
strategies for exercising their right to development. This includes “the right to be actively
involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social
programmes affecting them”. In the same way that indigenous peoples have the right to be
involved in developing and determining health, housing and other economic and social
programmes, they must also be actively involved in designing and conducting vulnerability
studies and strategies that aim to reduce their risk. Similarly, article 32 upholds indigenous
peoples’ right to determine and develop priorities for the use of their lands and territories,
which would include their possible use for disaster risk reduction initiatives.
16.
The conservation and protection of the environment is closely linked to disaster risk
reduction, and the Declaration provides a strong normative framework in this respect.
According to article 29, “indigenous peoples have the right to the conservation and
protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their lands or territories and
resources.” Given the potential impact of disasters on indigenous peoples’ lands and their
productive capacity, sound disaster risk reduction strategies, developed with the active
participation of indigenous peoples, would contribute to the fulfilment of article 29.
17.
Disaster risk reduction, in extreme cases, might involve removal from areas that are
deemed unsafe from a disaster point of view (e.g. from an area that has a high risk of
landslides or is located along the banks of a river that is prone to flooding). Article 10 of the
Declaration states that indigenous peoples “shall not be forcibly removed from their lands
or territories” and prohibits relocation without the free, prior and informed consent of the
peoples concerned, agreement on compensation and, where possible, the option of return.
5
A/HRC/27/66
18.
Although International Labour Organization Convention No. 169 concerning
indigenous and tribal peoples in independent countries does not address disaster risk
reduction in particular, some of its provisions are applicable in this context. Article 4, for
example, states that “special measures shall be adopted as appropriate for safeguarding the
persons, institutions, property, labour, cultures and environment of the peoples concerned.”
Article 7, paragraph 1, affirms indigenous peoples’ rights to decide their own priorities for
development and their participation in the “formulation, implementation and evaluation of
plans and programmes for national and regional development which may affect them
directly.” Disaster risk reduction would certainly fall under this provision. Article 16
addresses indigenous peoples’ right not to be removed from the lands that they occupy and
provides safeguards for cases where relocation is necessary as an exceptional measure.
19.
While universal human rights treaties do not refer specifically to disaster risk
reduction, nor to a specific right to a safe and healthy environment (one of the expected
outcomes of disaster risk reduction), the United Nations human rights treaty bodies all
recognize the intrinsic link between the environment and the realization of a range of
human rights, such as the right to life, to health, to food, to water, and to housing
(A/HRC/10/61). Disaster risk reduction can contribute significantly to the promotion and
protection of these human rights.
20.
In their concluding observations, some treaty bodies have referred to disaster risk
reduction from a human rights perspective. The Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, for example, has underlined the importance of integrating a
gender perspective and fostering the participation of women in disaster risk reduction
initiatives.5 The Committee on the Rights of the Child has also addressed the issue in some
of its concluding observations, advocating for the inclusion of disaster preparedness in
school curricula, for instance.6 The observations of the two Committees refer to indigenous
women and indigenous children by implication.
21.
The Special Procedures have also given some attention to the issue of disaster risk
reduction and its implications for human rights. The Special Rapporteur on the right to food
recommended, for example, that Nicaragua put in place a rapid alert system in order
to “protect indigenous peoples from the impacts of weather-related events” and support
them in making their food systems more resilient in the face of climate change
(A/HRC/13/33/Add.5, para. 83 (h)). The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a
component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination in this context, has also called for a human rights–based approach to disaster
prevention (A/HRC/13/20/Add.3, para. 71).
B.
Overview of global frameworks for disaster risk reduction
22.
The United Nations-endorsed Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 7 is a ten-year
plan (2005–2015) that sets out a comprehensive approach for reducing disaster risks. It was
adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 60/195 (para. 2).
Beyond recognizing the role of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, the HFA makes
no specific reference to indigenous peoples. However, a number of its risk reduction
5
6
7
6
See, for example, the concluding observations for Indonesia (CEDAW/C/IDN/CO/5, para. 39),
Grenada (CEDAW/C/GRD/CO/1-5, para. 36 (b)), Jamaica (CEDAW/C/JAM/CO/6-7, para. 32 (b))
and Tuvalu (CEDAW/C/TUV/CO/2, para. 56).
See, for example, the concluding observations for Djibouti (CRC/C/DJI/CO/2, para. 63 (h)).
UNISDR, Hyogo Framework For Action 2005–2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and
Communities to Disasters (2005). Available from www.unisdr.org/files/1037_hyogoframework
foractionenglish.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
A/HRC/27/66
strategies and principles are relevant to indigenous peoples. These include the
“development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities at all levels, in
particular at the community level, that can systematically contribute to building resilience
to hazards”,8 the importance of taking into account “cultural diversity, age, and vulnerable
groups” in disaster risk reduction,9 and the empowerment of communities and local
authorities “to manage and reduce disaster risk by having access to the necessary
information, resources and authority to implement actions for disaster risk reduction”.10
23.
Although a number of human rights–relevant elements are already explicitly
addressed (to varying degrees) in the HFA (e.g. gender, age, vulnerable groups, cultural
diversity, livelihoods, and socioeconomic structures), others (such as discrimination and
inequalities, economic and social rights in general, and the need for participation by
affected communities) are missing. The HFA also does not address the situation of
indigenous peoples explicitly.
24.
The mandate of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR),
formerly the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, is to serve as the
focal point in the United Nations system for coordinating disaster risk reduction and
ensuring synergies among disaster risk reduction activities. Through a system of global
partnerships, the UNISDR system provides a vehicle for cooperation among governments,
organizations and civil society actors, as well as indigenous peoples and their organizations,
to implement the HFA.
25.
Currently, UNISDR is coordinating the post-2015 successor mechanism: HFA2.11
The HFA2 framework is drawing its input from recommendations made at regional
platform meetings, and particularly from the fourth Global Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction, held in 2013. The report of the fourth Global Platform mentions several areas
that should be duly noted by both States and indigenous peoples: “HFA2 needs to enable
and encourage full participation of people disproportionately affected by disasters and
should embody the principles of social inclusion and human rights. The perspectives of the
most vulnerable should be included in both disaster risk reduction planning and
implementation. Their representatives should also play a major role, including leadership,
in national disaster risk reduction arrangements. In conjunction with this, the relationship
between disaster risk reduction and human rights needs to be explored and practical
measures taken to strengthen it.”12 In addition to ensuring the full and effective
participation of indigenous peoples, it is particularly crucial to seek and include the
perspectives of indigenous women, children, and persons with disabilities, since multiple
discrimination often means that their views are not taken into account.
III. Why are indigenous peoples at particular risk?
26.
Most policymakers and academics acknowledge that poor planning, poverty and a
range of other underlying factors create vulnerability, resulting in insufficient capacity or
measures to reduce the potential negative consequences of disaster risk. This vulnerability
8
9
10
11
12
Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015, para. 12.
Ibid., para. 13.
Ibid., para. 13.
UNISDR, Proposed elements for consideration in the post-2015 framework for disaster risk
reduction. Available from www.preventionweb.net/files/35888_srsgelements.pdf (accessed 4 August
2014).
UNISDR, Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (HFA2): Report from 2013 Global
Platform Consultations, p. 3. Available from www.unisdr.org/files/35070_hfa2consultationsgp
2013report.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
7
A/HRC/27/66
has as much to do with the disproportionate effect of a disaster on a particular community
as it does with the natural hazards themselves. Thus, the consequences of disasters may
well be made more serious if high-risk populations are not properly addressed in disaster
planning and response.
27.
The estimated 370 million indigenous people in some 90 countries worldwide 13 face
systematic discrimination and exclusion from political and economic power and continue to
be overrepresented among the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society. Indigenous
peoples are often dispossessed of their traditional lands and territories and deprived of their
resources for survival, both physical and cultural, further weakening their capacity to deal
with hazards, both natural and man-made (E/C.19/2013/14, para. 2).
28.
Many indigenous communities have faced disasters, including earthquakes, floods,
landslides, tsunamis, typhoons, coastal erosion and drought, which have caused enormous
losses including of lives, property and sources of livelihood. Even though indigenous
peoples are often from smaller, close-knit communities that live close to the earth,
understand their environment and practise risk reduction strategies and methods that
originated within their communities and have been enhanced and passed down over
generations, the factors listed below are among those placing them at particular risk from
the effects of natural disasters.
A.
Risk factors
1.
Climate change
29.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 14
states that the global climate system is warming and is doing so mainly because of manmade greenhouse gas emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel’s reports, and other studies,
document how climate change will affect, and already is affecting, the basic elements of
life for millions of people around the world, leading to an increasing frequency of extreme
weather events, rising sea levels, droughts, increasing water shortages, and the spread of
tropical and vector-borne diseases.
30.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that climate change will have implications for
the enjoyment of human rights. In 2008, the Human Rights Council recognized this in the
preamble to its resolution 7/23 on human rights and climate change, expressing concern
that climate change “poses an immediate and far-reaching threat to people and communities
around the world,” threatening the right to safe and adequate water and food, the right to
health and the right to housing. Equally, the human rights perspective emphasizes that
climate change is set to hit the poorest countries and communities the hardest, including
indigenous peoples.
31.
In its most recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change noted that
the “livelihoods and lifestyles of indigenous peoples, pastoralists and fisherfolk, often
dependent on natural resources, are highly sensitive to climate change policies, especially
those that marginalize their knowledge, values and activities.”15 Considering this through a
human rights lens, it is clear that projected climate change–related effects threaten the
13
14
15
8
State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (United Nations publication, Sales No. 09.VI.13).
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fourth Assessment Report (2007). Available from
www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_synthesis_report.htm
(accessed 4 August 2014).
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability. Technical summary, p. 8.
A/HRC/27/66
effective enjoyment of a range of human rights, including the right to life, the right to
health, the right to food, and indigenous peoples’ rights to their lands, territories and natural
resources.
32.
Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate
change, owing to their dependence upon and close relationship with the environment and its
resources. Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already faced by vulnerable
indigenous communities, which include political and economic marginalization, loss of
land and resources, human rights violations, discrimination and unemployment. The
following are some examples:16
(a)
In the high-altitude regions of the Himalayas, glacial melts affecting
hundreds of millions of rural dwellers who depend on the seasonal flow of water are
resulting in more water in the short term but less in the long run, as glaciers and snow cover
shrink.
(b)
In the Amazon, the effects of climate change include deforestation and forest
fragmentation, and consequently, more carbon released into the atmosphere, exacerbating
the situation and creating further changes. Droughts in 2005 resulted in fires in the western
Amazon region. This is likely to occur again as rainforest is replaced by savannahs, having
a huge effect on the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples in the region.
(c)
Indigenous peoples in the Arctic region depend on hunting polar bears,
walruses, seals and caribou, herding reindeer, and fishing and gathering, not only for food
to support the local economy, but also as the basis for their cultural and social identity —
consistent with article 20 of the Declaration, which states that indigenous peoples have a
right to subsistence and to engage freely in all their traditional and other economic
activities. Some of the concerns facing indigenous peoples there include changes in species,
and in the availability of traditional food sources, and a perceived reduction in the accuracy
of weather forecasts and in the safety of travelling in changing ice and weather conditions,
posing serious challenges to the right to health and the right to food.
(d)
In Finland, Norway and Sweden, rain and mild weather during the winter
season often prevents reindeer from accessing lichen, which is a vital food source. This has
caused a massive loss of reindeer, which are vital to the culture, subsistence and economy
of Sami communities. Reindeer herders must, as a result, feed their herds with fodder,
which is expensive and not economically viable in the long term.
(e)
Rising temperatures, dune expansion, increased wind speeds, and loss of
vegetation are impacting negatively on the traditional cattle- and goat-farming practices of
indigenous peoples in Africa’s Kalahari Basin, who must now live around governmentdrilled bores in order to access water and depend on government support for their survival.
(f)
In the Pacific, sea level rise, ocean acidification and an increase in extreme
weather events such as droughts and typhoons are placing indigenous peoples at added
risk.17
(g)
In many indigenous communities in Asia, climate change has caused changes
to the agricultural calendar, affecting cultural practices that are linked to key activities in
the agricultural calendar.
16
17
Climate change and indigenous peoples (2008). United Nations backgrounder. Available from
www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday/pdf/Backgrounder_ClimateChange_FINAL.pdf (accessed
4 August 2014).
Submission: Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific International.
9
A/HRC/27/66
2.
Environmental and geographical factors
33.
Environmental protection and the strengthening of ecosystems is an essential
ingredient in building disaster resilience.18 The close relationship of indigenous peoples
with their lands and territories makes them extremely vulnerable to changes and damage to
the environment. Indigenous peoples often inhabit lands that are risk-prone (e.g. low-lying
coastal areas or steep mountain slopes). Making them even more vulnerable is the fact that
infrastructure development and resource extraction frequently take place on or close to their
lands and territories, even though the community itself is often not involved in creating the
added risk.
34.
The decline of ecosystems is due to human activities such as road construction,
pollution, wetland reclamation and unsustainable resource extraction, the impact of which
can often increase disaster risk. Activities such as illegal logging, deforestation for
agriculture, the destruction of mangroves, and mining, as well as large-scale plantations and
energy projects, contribute to changes in climate patterns, which can threaten the health and
livelihoods of indigenous peoples and can increase their exposure to disasters. For example,
in Peru (a country with 52 indigenous peoples, who represent a significant proportion of the
country’s population),19 the opening of new roads down the eastern slopes of the Andes and
into the central jungle in order to extend the agricultural frontier has led to a notable
increase in the number of reported landslides in that region since the 1980s.20 In South-East
Asia, the destruction of a rainforest to establish palm oil plantations has led to increased
flooding risk.
3.
Vulnerable livelihoods
35.
As noted above, indigenous peoples often live in marginal and fragile ecosystems,
such as tropical and temperate forest zones, low-lying coastlines, high mountainous areas,
floodplains and riverbanks. These areas are some of the most threatened by climatic
uncertainties and unpredictable extreme weather events that can severely impact the lives of
indigenous peoples, since their livelihood systems are directly dependent on their
ecosystems. With livelihoods dependent on agriculture and the biodiversity of natural
resources, which are particularly sensitive to climate change, indigenous peoples may face
lower agricultural productivity and reduced access to food and other materials collected
from the natural environment. Their economy, social organization, identity, and cultural
and spiritual values can likewise be adversely affected.21
36.
Indigenous peoples in rural areas may be impacted more severely. Rural populations
face difficulties with communications, a lack of access to government and financial
institutions, and fewer opportunities to make a living. The experience of the Tarahumara
community during the drought that affected Mexico in 2012 is a case in point. This
indigenous community, which relies on farming as its sole source of income, endured a
18
19
20
21
10
UNISDR, How to Make Cities More Resilient: A Handbook for Local Government Leaders.
Available from www.unisdr.org/files/26462_handbookfinalonlineversion.pdf (accessed 4 August
2014).
Ministry of Culture of Peru. Base de Datos de Pueblos Indígenas u Originarios. Available from
bdpi.cultura.gob.pe/alcance-de-la-base-de-datos (accessed 4 August 2014).
UNISDR, 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Available from
www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/press/documents/UNISDR_insert_2-DRdrivers_prFINALl-r.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Adaptation in Asia (2012),
p. 2.
A/HRC/27/66
severe reduction in its corn yields and bean harvests due to a lack of water for irrigation,
with considerable impact on livelihoods.22
37.
The Punan indigenous peoples, who live in hunter-gatherer communities in East
Kalimantan, Indonesia, have for generations followed a lunar calendar for planning their
agricultural, forestry, shifting cultivation and hunting activities. With changes in the timing
of migration and fruiting, their dependence on traditional knowledge for their survival has
become less reliable.23
4.
Resource extraction
38.
Indigenous peoples have lived on their lands and territories for centuries yet have
often been denied their rightful ownership and their right to self-determination. While the
revenues from natural resource development are filtered out of regions where indigenous
peoples live, the negative consequences, including increased disaster risk, stay behind. 24
39.
As is stated in the Expert Mechanism’s “Follow-up report on indigenous peoples
and the right to participate in decision-making, with a focus on extractive industries”
(A/HRC/21/55, para. 15): “Globally, a fundamental concern of indigenous peoples
regarding extractive industry development, in addition to that of the dispossession of their
lands, territories and resources, has been the ensuing unsustainable development and
environmental degradation. Such patterns contrast with indigenous peoples’ traditional
models of development and are rooted in a lack of recognition of indigenous peoples’
international human rights.”
40.
The link between unsustainable development practices and disaster risk reduction
has been clearly made by the Secretary-General in his report to the General Assembly
entitled “Implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction”, which states
that “development cannot be sustainable if the disaster risk reduction approach is not fully
integrated into development planning and investments”, and that “development investment
that does not consider disaster risk will lead to the accumulation of more risk” (A/68/320,
para. 69).
5.
Health risks
41.
Health is a human right and every country in the world is now party to at least one
human rights treaty that addresses health-related rights. Article 12 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for instance, affirms the right “to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.” Article 24 (2)
of the Declaration states that indigenous individuals have an equal right to enjoy the highest
attainable standard of health and calls on States to take the necessary steps for the
progressive realization of this right. Yet indigenous peoples often suffer from exclusion,
discrimination and lack of access to health services, particularly if they live in remote areas
where governments do not invest in basic social services. For example, the highest
inequalities in health and mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean can be seen among
indigenous peoples and other ethnic groups.25 Some indigenous peoples, tribes and nations
22
23
24
25
UNISDR, “Indigenous people threatened by Mexico’s worst drought in 70 years”, 14 August 2012.
Available from www.unisdr.org/archive/28019 (accessed 4 August 2014).
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Adaptation in Asia (2012),
p. 5.
Corinne Lennox, Natural resource development and the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples.
State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012. Minority Rights Group International.
Pan American Health Organization, Strategic Plan 2013–2018: Disaster Risk Reduction and
Response. Available from http://www.paho.org/disasters/index.php?option=com_docman&task
=doc_download&gid=2161 (accessed 4 August 2014).
11
A/HRC/27/66
have a treaty right to health, often violated, that must be considered in any planning for
disaster risk reduction.
42.
If the health rights of indigenous peoples are at risk in “normal” times, their
vulnerability will be exacerbated in disaster situations where underlying disaster risks have
not been addressed. Access to health services, which for many indigenous communities is
already challenging, can become even more difficult following a disaster, when increased
demand, and often preventable damage to transport infrastructure and health facilities, can
compound the challenges. Other disaster-related health risks that may disproportionately
affect indigenous peoples include outbreaks of infectious diseases, increases in vectorborne disease, and a lack of safe drinking water and of access to adequate sanitation. It is
also worth pointing out that the health security systems of indigenous communities are
linked to the health of their forest and ecosystem. The declining population of medicinal
herbs and the destruction of their habitats constitute another source of increasing
vulnerabilities and health risk.
6.
Migration
43.
Throughout the world, humans are migrating to urban areas at an unprecedented
rate. It is estimated that by 2030, six out of every ten people will live in a city, and that by
2050, this proportion will increase to seven out of ten. 26 This includes indigenous peoples
throughout the world. In the United States, for example, nearly 67 per cent of those selfidentifying as American Indian or Alaska Native, either alone or in combination with
another race, were living in cities in the year 2000.27 This trend toward urbanization was
first recognized among this population in 1970 and the percentage of Native Americans
living in cities has grown steadily ever since.
44.
The root causes of migration to urban settings are closely linked to human rights
violations, which compel indigenous peoples to migrate from their lands and territories.
These include dispossession of lands and territories, environmental considerations, and
insecurity due to conflict.28 Indigenous peoples living in urban areas face particular
challenges to the fulfilment of their rights, including their access to housing, safe water and
sanitation. Once in urban areas, indigenous peoples are likely to establish themselves in
informal settlements, which are at increased risk from extreme weather events
(E/C.19/2013/14). The serious disconnection from their lands, territories and resources also
has a disastrous impact on the spirituality of indigenous peoples and their spiritual
relationship with the land.
B.
Lack of participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making and lack
of recognition of community-driven initiatives
45.
As discussed earlier, indigenous peoples have the right to participate in decisionmaking in matters that affect them. They should therefore be actively engaged in disaster
risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives, particularly if these measures are
likely to take place on, or somehow affect, their lands, territories and resources. Indigenous
peoples also have a great deal to contribute to disaster risk reduction, preparedness and
26
27
28
12
World Health Organization, Urban population growth. Available from www.who.int/gho/
urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/ (accessed 4 August 2014).
United States Census Bureau, The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010. Available
from www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-10.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
UN-Habitat, Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities: Policy Guide to Secure Land
Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities (Nairobi, 2009), p. 14.
A/HRC/27/66
prevention, and States should take the opportunity to learn about time-tested indigenous
practices that have arisen from a close relationship with the environment, and include these
lessons in their planning.
46.
Ideally, this inclusive process would build bridges for collaboration between
indigenous communities and the government agencies responsible for disaster risk
reduction, in the interest of improving risk reduction strategies. Rather than imposing topdown processes, it is important to respect the culture of the at-risk community; effective
planning for disaster risk reduction cannot be undertaken without engaging the people
themselves and ensuring that the strategies that are agreed upon remain their own.
47.
Indigenous peoples must have fully engaged, from the planning stages onwards, in
order to reduce disaster risk and vulnerability. The practice of imposing centralized
solutions on local problems (many of which already have successful local solutions) can
lessen the community’s capacity to reduce risk and save lives. They must have
opportunities to develop their own strategies as well as to exercise their right to participate
in the development of national and international policies, as called for in the Declaration.
48.
The lack of legal recognition of indigenous peoples with collective rights likewise
increases their vulnerability and restricts their participation. With this lack of recognition
and protection by States, the security of their persons and properties and their ownership of
their lands and resources are always threatened by imposed development projects. This
threat affects their traditional knowledge, as well.
49.
The international community should involve indigenous peoples in disaster risk
reduction strategies. Additional effort is required in order to ensure that these initiatives
result in tangible and sustainable programmes that promote a human rights–based approach
to disaster risk reduction. The Pan American Health Organization — a regional office of
the World Health Organization, for the Americas — is developing a model initiative of
collaboration with indigenous community leaders throughout the Americas to improve
disaster risk management. A questionnaire has been circulated to collect baseline data, and
a Hemispheric Consultation on Engaging Indigenous Peoples in Disaster Risk Reduction is
planned for mid-2014. The expected outcome of this dialogue will be effective approaches
to reduce the risk of disasters and other public health events of international concern, and
strategies to remove the challenges that exist to their universal implementation.
C.
Contribution of indigenous peoples to their own and to national
resilience
50.
As discussed above, article 31 of the Declaration provides a framework for the
recognition and protection of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge. In addition,
article 8 (j) of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires its Contracting Parties to
“respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and
local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity…”29
51.
Indigenous communities hold time-tested knowledge and coping practices
developed through their intimate connection with their natural surroundings that make them
resilient to climate-related natural hazards and disasters. This knowledge is a living
practice, which can adapt in response to changing circumstances. Indigenous knowledge
“includes an understanding of the relationships between indigenous societies and nature,
29
Article 8 (j): Traditional knowledge, innovations and practices. Available from
www.cbd.int/traditional/ (accessed 4 August 2014).
13
A/HRC/27/66
which have been tested by time and proven to be sustainable and successful in limiting the
effects of hazards” (E/C.19/2013/14, para. 39).
52.
Indigenous peoples should therefore not simply be viewed as people who are
vulnerable to climate change — they are also ecosystem peoples, with sound knowledge of
and an intimate relationship with their environments. Indigenous peoples inhabit some of
the most fragile ecosystems on the planet, and have developed unique strategies to cope
with extreme variations of weather, such as altering land use and settlement patterns, and
crop diversification, in order to minimize the risk of harvest failures. Other coping
strategies include changes to hunting and gathering periods to adapt to changing animal
migration and fruiting periods, the introduction of food banking and seed banking, along
with the creation of exchange networks among the communities, and the conservation of
forests and watersheds, including the restoration of ecosystems.30
53.
However, this knowledge has been unduly neglected in disaster management
policies formulated by States, due not only to the predominance of technocratic thinking,
but also to the lack of connections between mostly non-indigenous officials and the
indigenous population. Among the many arguments that can be made in favour of using
traditional knowledge in disaster risk reduction, four are especially compelling:
(a)
Indigenous practices for disaster risk reduction and mitigation can often be
adapted for use by other communities in similar situations or environments.
(b)
The use of a community’s traditional practices can encourage participation
and empower the community itself to take the lead in disaster risk reduction initiatives.
(c)
Traditional knowledge and practices can provide valuable information about
the local context to project implementation partners, including government agencies
working on disaster risk reduction.
(d)
The non-formal dissemination of traditional knowledge provides a model for
awareness-raising and education on disaster risk reduction. 31
54.
Today, indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices, which were
formerly undervalued and ignored, are increasingly considered to be important and
necessary contributions to the conservation of biodiversity and to disaster risk reduction. As
stressed by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, maintenance of indigenous
peoples’ cultural and spiritual relationships based on sustainable development and
millennial knowledge founded in generations of hunting and agricultural practices, land
management, sustainable water use, and agriculture-related engineering and architecture,
which leads to vital conservation of biodiversity, must be a key priority in effectively
addressing environmental or food catastrophes and global warming. 32 Recognition and
respect of the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination, lands, territories and
resources, and the protection of traditional knowledge, will have a positive impact on the
environment,33 and on disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives.
30
31
32
33
14
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Adaptation in Asia (2012),
p. 2.
Adapted from UNISDR, Indigenous Knowledge for Disaster Risk Reduction: Good Practices and
Lessons Learned from Experiences in the Asia-Pacific Region (2008). Available from
www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/3646 (accessed 4 August 2014).
State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (United Nations publication, Sales No. 09.VI.13), pp. 42–43.
UN-Habitat, Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities: Policy Guide to Secure Land
Rights for Indigenous Peoples in Cities (Nairobi, 2009), p. 21.
A/HRC/27/66
IV. How can consultation with and the participation of
indigenous peoples in natural disaster risk reduction,
prevention and preparedness initiatives be improved?
55.
The participation of indigenous peoples, in addition to being a right to which they
are entitled, is critically important for the success of disaster risk reduction, prevention and
preparedness initiatives.
A.
Free, prior and informed consent
56.
The Expert Mechanism has underlined the centrality of free, prior and informed
consent, noting that “indigenous peoples identify the right of free, prior and informed
consent as a requirement, prerequisite and manifestation of the exercise of their right to
self-determination as defined in international human rights law” (A/HRC/EMRIP/2010/2,
para. 34). The Declaration sets out a series of provisions on free, prior and informed
consent, and six of its articles contain explicit requirements in this regard (arts. 10, 11, 19,
28 (1), 29 (2) and 32). This principle is of fundamental importance for indigenous peoples’
participation in decision-making and establishes the framework for all consultations
relating to projects affecting indigenous peoples, including in the area of disaster risk
reduction. The duty of States to obtain indigenous peoples’ free, prior and informed consent
entitles indigenous peoples to effectively determine the outcome of any decision-making
that affects them, not merely to a right to be involved in such processes. It should be
obtained through genuine consultation and participation.
57.
As the Expert Mechanism has repeatedly stated (see, for example, A/HRC/18/42),
the principle of free, prior and informed consent has the following implications:
(a)
Free implies no coercion, intimidation or manipulation.
(b)
Prior implies that consent is obtained in advance of the activity associated
with the decision being made, and includes the time necessary to allow indigenous peoples
to undertake their own decision-making processes.
(c)
Informed implies that indigenous peoples have been provided with all
information relating to the activity and that that information is objective, accurate and
presented in a manner and form understandable to indigenous peoples.
(d)
Consent implies that indigenous peoples have agreed to the activity that is the
subject of the relevant decision, which may also be subject to conditions. 34
58.
An ongoing discussion surrounding the United Nations Collaborative Programme on
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
(UN-REDD) illustrates some of the challenges in applying the concept of free, prior and
informed consent in the context of disaster risk reduction. UN-REDD was conceived as a
mechanism for achieving sustainable development outcomes that benefit tropical forests
and their populations while simultaneously delivering climate change mitigation benefits. 35
UN-REDD subscribes to the principles of free, prior and informed consent, and since its
inception, consultations have been held to ensure that the UN-REDD objectives are
realized. One such consultation, held in partnership with the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations University, the Indigenous Peoples’ International Centre
for Policy Research and Education (Tebtebba) and the secretariat to the Convention on
34
35
For an interpretation of free, prior and informed consent, see E/C.19/2005/3.
See www.un-redd.org.
15
A/HRC/27/66
Biological Diversity, took place in Baguio City, Philippines, in November 2008. The
principles and recommendations developed during this consultation, which included the call
for engagement with and reliance on free, prior and informed consent, provided the basis
for the creation of the UN-REDD Programme’s “Operational guidance on the engagement
of indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities.”36 This guidance material
has been distributed to UN-REDD Programme staff, United Nations country team staff and
national government and civil society counterparts involved in any UN-REDD Programme
activities that may impact upon the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples or other
forest-dependent communities. This commitment to free, prior and informed consent
illustrates both the value of and the challenges inherent in maintaining the principles of
free, prior and informed consent in the context of disaster risk reduction, prevention and
preparedness initiatives.
B.
Partnership between indigenous peoples and governments
59.
In order to be successful, disaster risk reduction initiatives require the concerted
efforts of all stakeholders. In this regard, strong partnerships between indigenous peoples
and government agencies working in disaster risk reduction are essential. For these
partnerships to be successful, however, indigenous peoples’ right to participate in decisionmaking must be respected — indigenous peoples need to be consulted and involved in
disaster risk reduction initiatives at all stages.
60.
The State of Washington in the north-west of the United States of America has a
unique disaster risk reduction and response model that recognizes the State’s 26 federally
recognized Indian tribes, and recognizes that each sovereign tribe has an independent
relationship with the other tribes and with the State. The Centennial Accord37 was
concluded in 1989 between tribal nations and the State of Washington in order to better
achieve mutual goals through an improved relationship between their sovereign
governments. Since its inception, the Accord has provided a framework for government-togovernment relations. The Washington State Emergency Response Commission, which was
established within the framework of the Centennial Accord, also recognizes the importance
of developing partnerships with tribal nations and their tribal emergency response
commissions. It works to encourage partnerships between local emergency planning
committees and tribal nations. Tribal nations have the same responsibilities as States under
the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (adopted by Washington
State in 1987). Some tribes have established their own tribal emergency response
commissions, while others have opted to enter into agreements with their local emergency
planning committees.
61.
In Canada, the treaties include a famine clause, which has been implemented in a
recent joint fire and emergency services agreement between the Maskwacís Cree and
Wetaskiwin. The Government of Canada also recently announced a new approach to
emergency management on Indian reserves in order to strengthen emergency management
support to First Nations communities. When the city of Calgary experienced a major
flooding event in 2013, this approach led to increased partnerships between the federal,
36
37
16
Available from
www.un-redd.org/Portals/15/documents/events/20090309Panama/Documents/UN%20REDD%20IP
%20Guidelines%2023Mar09.pdf (accessed 4 August 2014).
State of Washington, Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, Centennial Accord Between the Federally
Recognized Indian Tribes in Washington State and the State of Washington. Available from
www.goia.wa.gov/Government-to-Government/Data/CentennialAccord.htm (accessed 4 August
2014).
A/HRC/27/66
provincial and First Nations governments, leading to quick recovery efforts and increased
capacity on the part of the First Nations via training and the development of community
emergency plans.
C.
Strategies to improve the participation of indigenous peoples in disaster
risk reduction
62.
The relationship between disaster risk reduction and the promotion and protection of
the rights of indigenous peoples is a relatively new area of exploration. There is no
one-size-fits-all approach to promoting the participation of indigenous peoples. The Expert
Mechanism’s “Final report of the study on indigenous peoples and the right to participate in
decision-making” (A/HRC/18/42) suggests a number of good practices by which
indigenous peoples may participate in decision-making and stresses that their involvement
in the design of the practices is important for success. These practices should be applied to
disaster risk reduction. For example, through participative assessments (of both capacities
and vulnerabilities) and policymaking processes aimed at combining local knowledge with
scientific methods, communities can be empowered to take advantage of their own
traditional knowledge to develop integrated strategies that are institutionalized and perhaps
even transferred to similar contexts elsewhere.
63.
Strategies that aim to improve indigenous peoples’ participation in the process of
risk reduction should start by engaging the community in a conversation about how risk
reduction concepts (e.g. risk and vulnerability) are understood and defined. These
definitions may or may not be consistent with those in common use by disaster
professionals, but unless a common understanding is reached on essential concepts, it will
be difficult to implement programmes, and attempts to measure success will be frustrated.
64.
Advantage should be taken of regional and international initiatives and platforms
that recognize, highlight and promote indigenous peoples’ issues, so as to help ensure that
indigenous peoples, communities and nations have access to best practices and lessons
learned and that the experience and knowledge residing in indigenous communities is
recognized by the international community as a valuable contribution to disaster risk
reduction.
65.
The participation of indigenous peoples is essential in order to ensure the protection
and promotion of their rights in disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness
initiatives. Currently there is a need to engage both indigenous peoples and their nonindigenous counterparts in dialogue aimed at understanding and reducing disaster risks.
This involves risks that are unique to indigenous peoples as well as those that they have in
common with other groups.
1.
Education and awareness-raising
66.
One key means of strengthening the participation of indigenous peoples in disaster
risk reduction is through education and awareness-raising. Indigenous peoples have the
right to receive information to reduce their risk and vulnerability and to protect themselves,
their property and their livelihoods.
67.
The importance of education as a tool for disaster risk reduction is recognized in the
Hyogo Framework for Action, which identified the use of knowledge, innovation and
education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels as one of its key priorities
for the period from 2005 to 2015. As noted in the Framework, “disasters can be
17
A/HRC/27/66
substantially reduced if people are well informed and motivated towards a culture of
disaster prevention and resilience.”38 In the case of indigenous peoples, education on
disaster risk reduction, in addition to being included in school curricula, could be addressed
through their own educational systems and institutions, in accordance with article 14 of the
Declaration.
2.
Strengthening the participation of indigenous peoples in the development of plans for
disaster risk reduction
68.
The importance of strengthening the participation of indigenous peoples was
highlighted at the conclusion of the 130th assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,39
which urged its 164 member parliaments “to take immediate action to review existing
legislation related to disaster risk reduction.” The assembly further adopted a resolution
stressing that “reducing disaster risk and protecting people’s lives are the legal
responsibility of all public representatives.” At an earlier Inter-Parliamentary Union event
focusing on parliaments, minorities, and indigenous peoples’ effective participation in
politics, the assembly stated: “We cannot accept that minorities and indigenous peoples are
the most vulnerable members of our societies and that they remain excluded from
decision-making that affects their lives and the future of our countries.” 40 These two
resolutions, stating that national government leaders are responsible for reducing risk and
that they cannot exclude indigenous peoples from decision-making, are strong statements
and should be a call to action. It is through these kinds of deliberations, which influence
national laws and policies, that lasting, sustainable risk reduction will be achieved. At the
national level, Guatemala reported on the development of risk and vulnerability maps with
the participation of indigenous peoples.41
69.
Indigenous peoples need to be involved in strengthening national risk reduction at
all levels. Examples of this involvement include the following:
(a)
Supporting legal recognition of indigenous peoples’ collective and
intergenerational rights to their lands, territories and natural resources, as the basis for
livelihood security, cultural identity and political leverage.
(b)
Promoting access to financial resources for the development of basic services
in indigenous territories.
(c)
Developing educational and informative materials in appropriate media on
the causes of disaster and climate change risk, and on measures to reduce it.
(d)
Encouraging the holding of forums within and between indigenous
communities to identify and share traditional mechanisms for coping with climate
variability and natural hazards, and to analyse their potential effectiveness in future climate
change scenarios.
(e)
Promoting access to technology and scientific knowledge generated by nonindigenous peoples.
38
39
40
41
18
Hyogo Framework for Action, para. 18.
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Towards risk-resilient development: taking into consideration
demographic trends and natural constraints (2014). Available from www.ipu.org/conf-e/130/Res2.htm (accessed 4 August 2014).
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Parliaments, minorities and indigenous peoples: effective participation in
politics (2010). Available from www.ipu.org/splz-e/chiapas10.htm (accessed 4 August 2014).
Submission: Guatemala.
A/HRC/27/66
(f)
Integrating participation by all indigenous peoples into regional early
warning systems.42
70.
As an example, the indigenous people (Bethechilokono) of Saint Lucia are
increasingly engaging with the National Emergency Management Organization as the
country revises its National Emergency Management Plan. The Bethechilokono are
advocating for the collection of disaggregated data on the community and its risks, and for
the Plan to consider international obligations to respect the rights of indigenous peoples
when designing and implementing rehabilitation programmes to mitigate the effects of
natural disasters.43 To this end, they are advocating for the inclusion of representatives,
selected by the community, in all local and national disaster risk reduction and emergency
management committees and advisory bodies. In Australia, indigenous peoples contributed
to the development of the National Emergency Management Strategy for Remote
Indigenous Communities, which aims to improve the resilience of those communities. 44
3.
Participation by indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of early
warning systems
71.
The ultimate objective of an early warning system is to provide information so that
individuals can make informed decisions and take action in order to avoid risk or, at a
minimum, reduce the risk, to their lives, health and property. The process of effective
warning against disasters includes: (a) identifying the risk or event (e.g. hurricane, volcanic
eruption, wildfire); (b) identifying individuals vulnerable to that risk; and
(c) communicating the warning to those individuals so that they understand it, are
sufficiently impressed by it, and, as a result, take effective action to minimize their risk
before and during the anticipated event. In the case of indigenous peoples, it is essential that
early warning systems take into account their linguistic and cultural needs. In the overseas
territories of France with indigenous peoples (French Guiana, New Caledonia, French
Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, and Mayotte), the dissemination of alert messages during
extreme weather events is carried out in indigenous languages.45 Mexico reported on a
programme whereby 120 public information messages were recorded and disseminated in
the local indigenous languages of eight states with high disaster risk. 46
72.
The participation of indigenous peoples in the development and implementation of
early warning systems is essential to their success. Participation by indigenous peoples can
help to ensure that these systems are culturally and linguistically relevant and are well
adapted to the specific risks and circumstances that they face. Furthermore, thanks to their
traditional knowledge, indigenous peoples have a great deal to contribute to the
development and implementation of early warning systems. In Uganda, for example,
Karamojong communities participate actively in, and benefit from, an early warning system
for droughts. The strategies for disseminating warnings and recommendations to the
community include the use of radio messages and text messaging (SMS). A wider
community awareness component also includes dramas and songs. Every month, drama
groups raise the communities’ awareness of the importance of listening to the warning
42
43
44
45
46
Marilise Turnbull, Charlotte L. Sterrett and Amy Hilleboe, Toward Resilience: A Guide to Disaster
Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (Rugby, United Kingdom, Practical Action
Publishing, 2013).
Submission: ALDET Centre, Saint Lucia (2014).
Submission: Australia.
Submission: France.
Submission: Mexico.
19
A/HRC/27/66
messages on the radio and following the recommendations given by district authorities
in order to avoid and reduce loss of lives and assets. 47
47
20
UNISDR, Africa Informs: Disaster Reduction in Africa: Special Issue on Drought 2012. Available
from www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/26438 (accessed 4 August 2014).
A/HRC/27/66
Annex
Expert Mechanism Advice No. 7 (2014):
Promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples
in disaster risk reduction initiatives
A.
General
1.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides the
legal framework for the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in
disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives. In particular, article 29 calls
for “the conservation and protection of the environment and the productive capacity of their
lands or territories and resources.” Reducing the risk of natural hazards on indigenous
peoples’ lands, territories and livelihoods can be seen as contributing to the fulfilment of
other rights of indigenous peoples, including the right to life, the right to health and the
right to food. In order for disaster risk reduction initiatives to truly have a positive impact
on the rights of indigenous peoples, their full and effective participation in these initiatives
is essential. Furthermore, disaster risk reduction initiatives should respect indigenous
peoples’ right to self-determination, their rights related to lands, territories and resources,
and their right to participate in decision-making.
2.
Natural hazards are not disasters, in and of themselves. Whether or not they become
disasters depends on a community’s exposure to the hazard and its vulnerability and
resilience — all factors that can be addressed by human (including State) action. A failure
by governments and others to take reasonable preventive action to reduce exposure and
vulnerability and to enhance resilience, as well as to provide effective mitigation, is a
human rights concern.
3.
The following Advice is offered to promote and protect the rights of indigenous
peoples in the context of disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives.
B.
Advice for States
4.
States should take every opportunity to secure the input of indigenous peoples in the
development and implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives so as to ensure their
full and effective participation and the specific inclusion of indigenous peoples’ knowledge
and unique needs or circumstances. States, and in particular agencies responsible for
national development, should be committed to ensuring the full and effective participation
of indigenous peoples, partnering with indigenous peoples in national strategies for disaster
risk reduction.
5.
National policies should integrate indigenous perspectives that reflect the changing
climate in the context of disaster risk reduction in order to provide a strategic framework
for action that empowers indigenous peoples to build resilience while respecting their right
to self-determination with regard to their lands, territories and natural resources, their right
to participate in decision-making, and their right to protect their cultural knowledge.
21
A/HRC/27/66
6.
Disaster risk management efforts should be scaled up to reach the many risk-prone
indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups.48 States should take measures, in
cooperation with indigenous peoples, to promote sustainable land use and ensure the
security of water resources.
7.
The design and implementation of early warning systems should be carried out with
the participation of indigenous peoples in order to ensure the linguistic and cultural
relevance of the systems.
8.
States should consider the possible impact of infrastructure development and of
resource extraction policies and activities on the rights of indigenous peoples in general,
and on their vulnerability to disasters in particular.
9.
States should take measures to promote the participation of indigenous peoples in
regional and international disaster risk reduction forums, including the global post-2015
framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2).
10.
Existing treaty relationships and partnerships between relevant government agencies
working on disaster risk reduction and indigenous peoples should be pursued in all regions
of the world in order to develop disaster risk reduction strategies at the national and local
levels that reflect the voices of indigenous peoples.
11.
The collection and disaggregation of data on disaster risk reduction should be
improved in order to develop a clearer picture of indigenous peoples’ vulnerability to
disasters.
12.
States should consult with indigenous peoples and seek to obtain their free, prior and
informed consent when implementing disaster risk reduction measures that may affect their
lands, territories and natural resources.
13.
It is important for States to develop and implement resource extraction policies that
aim to measure and reduce risk. This may include prohibiting resource extraction
development where such development could lead to an increase in disaster risk.
14.
As suggested in the Hyogo Framework for Action, States should “provide easily
understandable information on disaster risks and protection options, especially to citizens in
high-risk areas, to encourage and enable people to take action to reduce risks and build
resilience.”49 This recommendation is particularly relevant for indigenous peoples. The
Hyogo Framework for Action also calls for the information to incorporate indigenous
knowledge and to be tailored to the target audiences, taking cultural and social factors into
account.
C.
Advice for indigenous peoples
15.
Indigenous peoples should ensure their greater participation in disaster risk
reduction initiatives at the local, national and international levels. In advocating for
increased participation, indigenous peoples should draw upon the relevant provisions of the
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to selfdetermination, rights related to lands, territories and resources, the right to participate in
decision-making, and respect for and protection of traditional knowledge.
48
49
22
UNISDR, 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Available from
www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/19846 (accessed 4 August 2014).
Hyogo Framework for Action, para. 18.
A/HRC/27/66
16.
Indigenous peoples should develop community-level preparedness and risk
reduction plans and strategies, with the participation of the entire community, that include
actionable contingency plans to protect lives, livelihoods and critical infrastructure.
17.
Indigenous peoples should disseminate and promote the elements included in these
plans and strategies, which represent an indigenous perspective, in order to heighten
awareness at the national and global levels.
18.
Indigenous peoples should consider investing in training for youth on new
technologies that are a part of current early warning and Geographic Information System
mapping applications, which may include training by elders on how to adapt traditional
knowledge in this contemporary context.
19.
Traditional indigenous knowledge, values and cultures are, in themselves, important
risk reduction tools and should be incorporated into national and international disaster risk
reduction strategies, in conformity with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous knowledge should be valued and widely shared among the
communities of indigenous peoples and with States and international institutions.
D.
Advice for the global and regional disaster risk reduction communities
20.
International agencies and organizations working on disaster risk reduction should
exchange good practices and experiences in working with indigenous peoples at the
regional and international levels.
21.
As indigenous peoples continue to take steps to manage and reduce disaster risk,
they will require information on common principles and concepts in a language that is
easily understood and culturally appropriate.
22.
In all disaster risk reduction initiatives, measures should be taken to ensure the full
and effective participation of indigenous peoples and the recognition and promotion of the
rights of indigenous peoples, including the right to self-determination, rights related to
lands, territories and resources, the right to participate in decision-making, and respect for
and protection of traditional knowledge, consistent with the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Such initiatives should recognize indigenous peoples’
participation as distinct from that of civil society organizations.
23.
HFA2 should continue to highlight the inclusion of indigenous perspectives and
traditional knowledge of risk reduction, particularly on issues related to climate change, and
to advocate for a human rights–based approach to be integrated into disaster risk reduction
policies and programmes, as recommended in the report of the fourth Global Platform for
Disaster Risk Reduction.
24.
Existing gaps in human rights–relevant elements of the Hyogo Framework of Action
should be addressed, including discrimination and inequalities; economic and social rights
in general; the rights to food, housing, health and property; and the need for full and
effective participation by indigenous peoples.
25.
International and regional organizations should strive to identify appropriate spaces
and opportunities to move forward a productive dialogue that reflects and builds upon
potential synergies between disaster risk reduction, human rights and indigenous issues.
26.
International and regional organizations, in cooperation with indigenous peoples,
should develop training programmes on disaster risk reduction aimed at strengthening the
participation of indigenous peoples in disaster risk reduction and improving indigenous
peoples’ resilience to disaster risk.
23
A/HRC/27/66
27.
International organizations can play a crucial role in promoting dialogue between
indigenous peoples and States with regard to the promotion and protection of the rights of
indigenous peoples in the context of disaster risk reduction strategies.
24